Definition of "advertising"

[Sideofabarn]

So is riverotters "way" of writing it up ok and not be deleted??

i thought this site was for the hunters by the hunters!



hmmm..

Based on what we've seen, I don't think River Otter's write up would be completely ok. Remember, this site is owned by an individual, and pissing him off might be akin to pissing off someone with PMS- the consequences are yours, unfortunately

[dana]

So I'm confused. Can I talk about products that the site sponsers don't sell? Like for instance, Kifaru??? I might like my tent and tell people it's the greatest tent out there and that would draw business away from the site sponsers who sell tents, just not Kifaru right??? Sooo, I would suggest you get a catalog from all the site sponsers and post it up in the rules and tell us we are only allowed to talk about those products if we want to talk gear. Sounds like a fun forum don't it?

[shottyshooter]

You CAN talk about any product or brand- that's just recomending a sku that a sponsor may or may not carry.

Any mention of WHERE to buy the product seems to be the "free advertising" that is against the sites policy.

I can't say I agree with it- although I get where it's coming from - we the users aren't funding the site, the sponsors are, and the site needs to keep them happy for that reason.

Net result is that we can't speak freely. Take it or leave it.

So everybody likes Kirkland wool socks and PM the OP if you don't know where that product is available. Does that work?!?!?!

[ianwuzhere]

what kind of kirkland socks? or can we not discuss that much detail now?
straight up guidelines/rules are now req. "sticky"

[RiverOtter]

We the users aren't funding the site, the sponsors are, and the site needs to keep them happy for that reason.

And there in lies the crux of the situation, if forum users are over governed to keep the sponsors happy, there will simply be less users, or users who distrust the information that is posted here and look elsewhere.

I've always maintained, "Good Shit Sells Itself", and I don't see that changing anytime soon. In this day and age, businesses had better well be up to date on the free market place concept, and stock/price accordingly. The fact that a sponsor or sponsors bitched about competition, which is fairly obvious at this point, only makes me as a consumer question any/all sponsor's on this site.....

If censorship is gonna be the norm on the "Hunting Gear" forum, I would honestly hope the forum is removed all together, as big of a loss as that would be. Sad, but true.....

[Gateholio]

The idea of censoring the forums to favour the sponsors is fundamentally flawed. When I make a purchase, I want to feel good about it. I want to know that I've considered all the factors and picked the best combination of price, service and other intangibles.

What you're saying by censoring the forums is that the sponsors prefer to do business by duping their customers into buying from them by manipulating the information we have as customers. That may not be your intention, but that is the effect.

Censorship of any kind creates an atmosphere of distrust, and the sponsors are now associated with that.

Oh, bullshit....You re making a mountain out of a molehill. There is no "duping" going on here. All the companies in question have websites and toll free numbers and often send out catalogs and flyers. If you are interested in purchasing from them or comparing prices, it's dead easy to seek out the info.

For the record, NONE of our sponsors have ever complained about someone "advertising" for Walmart, Costco, Cabelas etc. The mods take it upon themselves to remove that type of thread because quite simply- it's not fair to our sponsors, who actually PAY to keep this site working. For the most part our sponsor are independents, small businesses. You know, the "little guys." They do a damn good job at personal customer service, something you won't get from the big boxes.

They see value in advertising on HBC, because it's a personal, direct connection to avid hunters. They donate prizes to our contests, they pay to keep the site up and running and the very least we can do for them is to refuse direct free advertising from their competition.

Nobody is saying you can't start a discussion about what sort of tent, pack, socks etc you should buy. Talk about Kifaru, Kirkland socks, Garmin GPS etc all you want. None of these sort of threads have ever been deleted. But when you start a thread that says "Costco is selling these sweaters for X dollars" expect it to get deleted. There is a very clear distinction between having a discussion about product quality and putting up a thread that is clearly advertising, and it's a pretty simple distinction. I'm actually surprised that some people are having a tough time grasping this concept. We've all talked about Nosler or Barnes bullets, Remington shotguns, Mystery Ranch packs etc. This is quite different from starting a thread that's sole purpose is to advertise a specific product from a specific retailer.

And about advertising for 2 for 1 burgers at A&W? Well, as I said, Wendys and McD's don't advertise here. If someone puts up a thread about some deal from a retailer that isn't in direct competition with our sponsors, we will probably let it go, as it's not being unfair to the sponsors that pay for this site. if someone feels strongly about starting threads about Costco sales, by all means, approach Costco and see if they will come on board as a sponsor. My guess is that their willingness to support hunters stops at their bottom line.

I personally think that the value of HBC extends far further than knowing that Costco is selling socks for a cheap price. I don't think I am alone here..........

[huntcoop]

I was just looking at the GR website and they are selling ONE pair of merino socks for $22.99, I just received FOUR pair for $11.99

......did I just save $80.00????

[Onesock]

Censorship. I hardly think stating a price and where you bought something is advertising for thet retailer only stating a fact helping out fellow hunters. You would think the sponsors would like to know what the competition is flaunting. Huh? I am damn sure costco will still sell their Merino socks and underwear even without HBC!

[Gateholio]

I was just looking at the GR website and they are selling ONE pair of merino socks for $22.99, I just received FOUR pair for $11.99

......did I just save $80.00????

Depends on the quality of the socks. Maybe, maybe not.

Halfway up a mountain on a 10 day hunt is a shitty time to discover that a bargain wasn't really a bargain.

[Gateholio]

Censorship. I hardly think stating a price and where you bought something is advertising for thet retailer only stating a fact helping out fellow hunters. You would think the sponsors would like to know what the competition is flaunting. Huh? I am damn sure costco will still sell their Merino socks and underwear even without HBC!

If you don't think that starting a thread about a retailer selling a certain product for a certain price is a form of free advertising, then you should get into the ad business. You would make lots of customers happy until you went broke.